The house that went up in flames was long forgotten. I looked at the mysterious demon in front of me.
With a slight movement of his fingers we were transported inside a majestic house that could only be described as a mansion.
"Welcome home my little Riley" Darien said while we ascend the stairs and went into the biggest bathroom I've ever seen.
He placed me down and started unbuttoning my shirt and taking off every piece of clothing I had on. He turned on the water and placed me in the tub.
He carefully and delicately cleaned and washed my body and hair throughly. By the time he was finished I was feeling smooth and sweet all over.
With a flick of his fingers a transparent bottle with blue substance appeared.
"This is a potion that will prevent anyone from detecting your human, however it will not mask your intoxicating scent. My little Riley you are what is known as a half demon, however your blood and scent has little to no trace of demon whatsoever."
I nodded and remained still as he poured the contents of the potion on my head and it flowed all over my body.
He lifted me out of the bath tub and wrapped me in a large white towel. We then entered a bedroom where he laid me on a comfortable bed with silk sheets. Once he was done drying my hair and body he flicked his fingers and in an instant I was dressed. It was a black pajama that suited me well.
"Are you hungry?" Darien asked and I nodded. Again I was in his arms as he went to the kitchen and started cooking, not once did he put me down even when handling multiple ingredients.
The food here was quite scary looking but the aroma when cooked was amazing. I ate to my hearts content.
"Riley I had told you before that I am a demon lord. We are in the demon world and you will be attending Darkfall" he said allowing me time to digest it all.
"Darkfall is a demon school where all demons attend. There will be all sorts of full blooded demons and they will be strong. Humans are common knowledge but the existence of humans in this world is zero. Half demons are not unheard of but the only person to ever claim seeing one was at least a few thousand years ago and even then it is still just considered a rumor."
"Finally, the matter of the color red. It is also considered rare and held in high esteem in the demon world. It would be a surprise to find anyone with red hair and even more so red eyes. Yet you have both…." he continued.
I was silent throughout his whole speech. At first I was eagerly listening but then I started remembering everything.
I remembered why I never fit in.
Tears filled my eyes and I wasn't able to keep them in. Like a river it flowed, a rush of emotion that had bottled up suddenly broke at the realization that the hope I had at belonging shattered.
"…but don't worry I'm sure you will be—"
Darien stopped abruptly and a wave of extreme emotions hit the young demon lord as he caught sight of his Riley in tears.
The small boy before him looked so frail and broken it sent a pain Darien had never known right through him. It was as if someone ripped his heart out and Darien did not like it one bit.
With lightning speed Darien flung the dinner table separating them in the opposite direction, not caring where or how it landed.
Riley was now shaking uncontrollably and his silent tears turned into painful cries. Darien was also losing it and he swore someone would pay in a sea of their blood if they were ever unfortunate enough to be the cause of his Riley's tears.
He rushed to Riley's side and in an instant had the small boy in his arms. His tiny hands tangled themselves in Darien's blue hair and his small legs wrapped around the demon's waist.
"Shhh.." Darien whispered in his ear as he tried to calm his little Riley. The small boy cried and cried until finally he got tired. He fell asleep in Darien's embrace.
Darien placed gently kisses on his head as he held him in his arms protectively until he was deep in sleep. He placed him on his bed and covered him with the sheets.
•••••
Riley soon awoke but he refused to open his eyes. He knew he would have to face reality and he would much rather sleep in this comfortable bed that smelled like Darien.
However, Riley failed to account for the fact that Darien could not be fooled by his pretense as the demon lord was studying his breathing quite intensely and knew exactly when he awoke.
"Tell me, why were you crying?" Darien's voice was calm too calm even. Riley was caught and for a moment he froze like a child caught stealing candy.
"I–I don't want to leave.." knowing there was no use lying or refusing to answer he would spill his heart out to him. His little hand clutched the bed sheets tightly and with all his emotion he shouted the thing he feared the most, "dad please don't abandon me!"
With tears ready to fall from his eyes once again he closed them.
"Riley come here" Darien demanded his voice still calm and his expression relaxed. Unbeknownst to Riley, Darien was keeping his demon at bay.
The boy obeyed and walked over to Darien that was sitting in a black chair. Once he was an arm length away Darien pulled him to stand in between his legs and looked the small boy straight in his ruby red eyes. Riley tried to avoid his gaze but Darien tucked his fingers beneath his chin and forced him to look directly at him.
"I want you to tell me everything" his voice boomed and a shiver ran down Riley's spine.
"I was never wanted back home I—" his eyes wondered away from the intensity of Darien but the demon lord was having none of it. With a firmer grip he made the boy look at him.
"— I was just considered a curse because of my red hair and eyes and I didn't fit in with any of the normal kids my age. They were all too afraid to look at me and when you said red was a rare color and then I found out I'm a half demon and the only one here.. I—I just I don't want you to ever leave me."
Darien stood up and lifted the boy in his arms. Black beautiful wings appeared and without warning Darien took to the sky. His massive wings commanded attention and his golden eyes had turned a darker shade.
For a demon their wings were of utmost importance and showing them meant a great deal.
The sky was a sight to behold as the stars littered the ink night and the legendary two moons illuminated the night sky.